Firefox released version 98.0.1 on March 14, 2022, Yandex and Mail.ru were removed as optional search providers from the search drop-down menu in the latest version of the Firefox browser.
This is a minor version / release that comes a week after Firefox 98. Firefox 98.0.1 removes search providers Yandex and Mail.ru from web browsers in certain regions.
While Mozilla released Firefox 98, it indicated that the search engine provider was removed in Firefox, but did not mention or provide more details except that it did not receive “official permission” to unspecified to integrate search engines into Firefox.
Firefox 98.0.1 provides detailed information in their official notes, but it’s not yet clear which search services were affected in Firefox 98.0.
Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search engines in Firefox’s search drop-down list.
Search providers were available as default providers in selected regions, including Russia and Turkey. Mozilla removed them from the list of search engines that Firefox users could switch to by default in their web browser.
This release removes the provider from Firefox installations in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox.
If you previously installed a customized version of Firefox with Yandex or Mail.ru, offered through partner distribution channels, this release removes those customizations, including add-ons and default bookmarks. Where applicable, your browser will revert back to default settings, as offered by Mozilla. All other releases of Firefox remain unaffected by the change.
Mozilla replaces the search engine, if it is the default, with Google. Google searches use Firefox tags by default.
Mozilla also notes that search engines have also been removed from custom versions of Firefox that partners could distribute in certain regions.
If you previously installed a customized version of Firefox from Yandex or Mail.ru, offered through affiliate distribution channels, this version removes these settings, including add-ons and standard bookmarks.
If applicable, the browser will return to the default settings provided by Mozilla. All other versions of Firefox remain untouched by the change.There is no description for the changes in the release notes.
Firefox users can add removed search engines back to the browser. One of the easiest ways to do this is :
- Select the Firefox menu More Tools Customize Toolbar.
- Drag the search box to the Firefox address bar.
- Visit the search engine you want to add (For instance : https://www.yandex.com/).
- A plus sign is displayed above the icon in the search field to indicate that a search engine has been found to add on Firefox. Left click on the icon and then click on the Yandex icon, which is also marked with the plus icon.
- Search Appliance has been added to Firefox and you can set it as default. Search providers are managed by typing about: preferences#search on the Mozilla Firefox address bar.